Herring is stored from 2 days to a year, depending on conditions

Markets and store shelves today offer a wide range of different types of fish. Many of us like to include herring in our diet, and this is no coincidence. According to experts, its use has a positive effect on the human body. Fish has a number of valuable nutritional properties, and the product also contains fatty acids and vitamins. Frequent consumption of herring dishes helps to increase mental activity and performance, strengthens the immune system, as well as the cardiovascular system.

Before preparing such dishes, it is very important to familiarize yourself with the rules for choosing fish, as well as study information on how to store salted or fresh herring in the home refrigerator correctly. Find out a few simple ways to help your product not spoil over a long period of time.

In a refrigerator

The duration of storage of herring in the refrigerator at home is influenced by temperature, cutting, type (Pacific, Atlantic, etc.), degree of salting, and container format.

Without brine

Stored in the refrigerator without brine for up to 2 days.

Place the product in a glass or plastic container and close with a lid. This will slow down moisture loss and further drying out and weathering. This method is advisable to use if the fish will soon be used as an ingredient for preparing dishes with a side dish or served as an independent appetizer. Then, indeed, there is no need to waste energy on creating a special brine.

In brine

Brine allows you to prolong the storage of barrel herring for up to 4 weeks, provided that the temperature regime is observed.

For convenience, the carcass should be cut into several parts and placed in a food container. After cleaning, the resulting pieces must be filled with brine from the packaging. If it is not enough, then you need to prepare brine yourself using water and salt in a ratio of 5:1. After mixing the components, boil the liquid and then let it cool. Fill the container with the herring with a saline solution cooled to room temperature until it is completely drowned. Sometimes the brine is prepared from beer, adding bay leaves and allspice to taste.

In oil

When placed in oil, the product retains its properties for no more than 4 days.

Sunflower oil is a natural preservative and, unlike salt, allows you to preserve the natural taste. Place the herring in a glass bowl and close the lid tightly. If you don't have a lid, you can use foil or parchment.

Vacuum (factory) container

In original (vacuum) packaging, you can keep it in the refrigerator until the expiration date.

On average it is 15-45 days depending on the cutting. After opening the container, it is recommended to consume within 2 days.

In the marinade

Often, to give a more delicate and piquant taste, seafood is placed in special marinades and fillings. Made from oil, vinegar, saline solutions with the addition of mayonnaise, various sauces, spices, onions, lemon juice. These ingredients allow you to preserve the pickled product, since they act not only as a flavoring agent, but also as a natural preservative. The marinade, like the brine, should cover the herring completely, not allowing it to dry out.

The base of the filling directly affects the duration of storage, which can range from several days to 4 weeks for salted fish.

Sliced ​​or in pieces

An impressive part of the products made from raw materials of the herring family are preserves. Chopped herring preserves are produced mainly from frozen raw materials, without subjecting the fish to heat treatment, but adding preservatives, for example, sodium benzoate, for preservation. The carcass is cut into fillets or smaller pieces and placed in round plastic or iron cans, which can often be found on store shelves.

They are stored before opening at a temperature from -3 to +5 for no more than 4 months, after opening the package at a temperature from 0 to +5 for no more than 48 hours.

Smoked

Hot smoked products should not be kept in the refrigerator for more than 48 hours.

Milk and caviar

Herring milt and caviar are sources of biologically active food additives with a wide spectrum of action. Caviar is more popular among consumers and is easy to find on sale. In a closed container, it retains its taste according to its expiration date.

Once opened, it must be consumed within 3 days, transferring from a metal jar into a glass or ceramic container to prevent oxidation.

If we talk about offal left after cutting, they are stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

What will help preserve herring longer?

Regardless of whether the housewife plans to freeze the fish or salt it and store it in the refrigerator, it is important to choose the right fresh herring. Knowing simple rules will help with this:

1. Fresh herring has a silvery skin, without damage, plaque or red spots.
2. When you press on her stomach, you feel elasticity, and after moving your hand away, the surface immediately returns to its original position.
3. Fresh herring have bright red gills and are tightly closed.
4. How fresh the product is is also determined by the condition of the fish's eyes. Cloudy and sunken ones indicate a possible delay. If the herring is sold without a head, you should think about whether such a purchase is necessary.

If the herring is factory-packed, then it must have a sticker with data on it. Before purchasing, it is important to study the expiration date and make sure that the fish is still suitable for consumption. It is also advisable to check the quality of the packaging. There should be no damage or signs of leakage.

Having understood the basic methods of storing herring in the refrigerator or freezer, an experienced housewife will be able to treat her family members to delicious dishes using it. And at the same time, she does not have to worry that the product will harm her loved ones.

Video: how to properly store salted herring in the refrigerator and freezer?

How to store salted herring in the refrigerator (and freezer) correctly?

Watch this video on YouTube

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In the freezer

Freezing fresh fish is considered a common practice, but when it comes to salted herring, doubts may arise. This method occurs when you need to use seafood in a few weeks, and the expiration date is coming to an end. You can place the herring in the freezer either in an unopened factory vacuum bag, or pre-cleaned, cut into pieces and placed in containers.

The storage duration in this case will be 6 months.

Defrosting should be done smoothly, initially by moving the container with frozen fish from the freezer to the shelf of the refrigerator. To speed up the process, do not use hot water or a microwave. Repeated freezing is strictly prohibited, as it increases the risk of food poisoning, reduces density and worsens taste.

Storage conditions

Storing salted fish

It is the conditions that influence how long salted fish is stored. Shelf life varies depending on the classic components - temperature, humidity, freshness and degree of salting.

1. The lightly salted product should be kept in the dark and cool. The products are classified as perishable, so they need to be carefully inspected every two days. If a sticky whitish coating forms, the mucus should be washed off with brine, and the product should be eaten at the same time. Under the above conditions, a lightly salted product will live for about three to four days. With longer storage and further consumption, food poisoning may occur.
2. If we are talking about the saltier version, then the fish will last ten times longer. In vacuum packaging, the product will last for a month, and if you fill it with sunflower oil, even longer. Experienced housewives are convinced that a highly salted product will not disappear within three months.

You can tell that a home-cooked salted product has gone bad both by smell and visually. The fillet will lose its elasticity and become loose, and after pressing on the skin, the dent will not smooth out, but will remain in the same place.

Without refrigerator

Some people do not believe that it is possible to store salted products outside the refrigerator. However, experts are convinced of the opposite. To do this, the delicacy is placed in a cool and dry place, always in a dark place. In a warmer place, the treat will disappear and begin to decompose in just a couple of hours.

In a refrigerator

Everyone knows that you can increase the shelf life of salted fish by refrigerating it, but not everyone knows exactly how to preserve the product. After the specimen is salted, it is wrapped in cotton cloth and placed in the cold for no longer than five days.

You can store lightly salted red fish in material that has been moistened with acetic or citric acid. From the outside, the product is placed in a plastic bag and sent to the cold for a week and a half.

If you store red fish in the refrigerator in brine, it will last for three to four weeks. Especially if the salt concentration is high.

One of the rules for storing in a household unit is isolation from eggs in the shell, from raw vegetables and fruits. On the surface of the listed products there are microbes that shorten the lifespan of river or sea life and start the decomposition process.

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How to determine delay

Even the current expiration date does not guarantee that there is a high-quality and unspoiled product on supermarket shelves. After all, during transportation and placement of goods in a warehouse, the required conditions and temperature conditions are not always met, which leads to a reduction in storage duration. Therefore, you should be careful when choosing fish.

Here are the main signs of spoiled products:

• The presence of damage and deformation, skin tears, unpleasant odor, swollen abdomen.
• The presence of red or yellow spots that appear as a result of oxidative processes, leading to a decrease in organoleptic properties.
• A flabby, soft carcass that has lost its elasticity is highly likely to be spoiled.
• Damage to packaging leading to subsequent depressurization. When a plastic box or bucket is turned upside down, the brine or filling begins to leak.
• Red eyes and blood that appears when you press on the gills indicate dishonest salting.
• An approaching expiration date should tempt you to opt for a more recent product.
• Foamed solution with a pungent odor.
• Too many herbs and spices indicate an attempt to disguise a stale product.

To correctly select products of the highest quality, rely on conducted and published research and the rating of the Roskachestvo information website.

Choosing fresh and salted herring

Every housewife will definitely benefit from advice on how to choose the highest quality product and what you should pay special attention to when buying fish.

1. Fresh herring is covered with silvery scales. There should be no damage, “rust” or yellowish spots on its surface.
2. Before purchasing, lightly press on the belly of the fish. If it is elastic and quickly takes its original shape, feel free to choose such a carcass.
3. Look under the gills. In freshly caught herring they are bright red in color and tightly covered.
4. Study the fish's eyes. They are transparent and slightly bulging - everything is fine.
5. Visually inspect the carcass. A high-quality specimen has a wide back, rounded sides, and also has a neutral fishy smell.
6. Choose uncut herring. Refuse to buy a product without a head, as there is a high risk of its low quality.

The choice of salted fish should be approached no less responsibly. Consuming an expired or spoiled product can have a negative impact on human health and cause severe poisoning. When purchasing, adhere to the following rules:

1. Examine the skin of the herring. The presence of “rusty” traces is a clear sign that the goods have been stale. This indicates the beginning of oxidative processes that can worsen the taste of the product.
2. The gills of a salted fish should have a burgundy tint. If you press them lightly with your finger and blood comes out, it is better to refuse to buy such a carcass.
3. The most delicious salted herring is elastic, with no mechanical damage on the surface of the scales.
4. A sure sign of under-salted herring is red eyes. It is necessary to keep it in brine for a little longer, and only then eat it.
5. Pay attention to the solution in which the fish is stored. If it is transparent, has no unpleasant odor, and is light-colored, the product was recently manufactured.

Advice: opt for a medium-sized carcass. Large specimens may contain heavy metals accumulated in seawater.

Recommendations

Here are some recommendations that will help preserve taste and consumer properties:

1. Fish purchased in factory packaging (Mathias, Russian Sea, Baltic Coast) should be stored at home in the same packaging and opened immediately before consumption or processing.
2. To increase shelf life, you do not need to keep lightly salted herring whole. Cut up, remove the insides, which are a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria and microorganisms. The skin must be left on.
3. The optimal temperature according to GOST is from 2 to 5°C.
4. The ideal placement option is a refrigerator. In exceptional cases, a balcony is suitable if the weather conditions outside the window are appropriate.
5. The product has a strong odor, so you need to keep it in an airtight container so that the contents of the refrigerator do not absorb the specific aroma.
6. Dishes using lightly salted herring as an ingredient (for example, “under a fur coat” salad, mincemeat) can be stored for up to 2 days.
7. A whole uncut carcass and fillet should not be kept together - place them in different containers.

Defrosting

We asked experts, food industry technologists, whether salted herring can be stored in the freezer. It turns out that if you prepare the salt correctly, thoroughly clean the fish from the entrails and dry it, and then freeze it in a high-quality freezer, you will not cause any damage to the product. You are guaranteed to receive a tasty and healthy snack at any time, you just need to serve it correctly.

But this is where many people make a mistake. In an effort to serve the fish faster, they defrost it in warm water, place it on a radiator, or try to warm it in the microwave. This cannot be done. When taking the herring out of the freezer, you need to move it to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so that it gradually moves away. Only then can you put it on a dish, where it will finally warm up. If you expect situations where you need to quickly get a snack, then freeze the fish in thin pieces. You can immediately pour them onto a plate and pour oil over them. While you are preparing the main dish, the pieces will become suitable for consumption.

Preface

Preface

The goals, basic principles and basic procedure for carrying out work on interstate standardization are established by GOST 1.0-92 “Interstate standardization system. Basic provisions" and GOST 1.2-97 "Interstate standardization system. Interstate standards, rules and recommendations for interstate standardization. Procedure for the development, adoption, application, updating and fishery products, food, feed, technical and packaging", by the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) and the Atlantic Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (AtlantNIRO)

2 INTRODUCED by the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology

3 ADOPTED by the Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (Protocol No. 17 of April 1, 2004)

The following voted for the adoption of the standard:

4 By Order of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology dated September 14, 2004 N 10-st, the interstate standard GOST 815-2004 was put into effect directly as a national standard of the Russian Federation on July 1, 2005.

5 INSTEAD GOST 815-88

6 REPUBLICATION. January 2008

Information on the entry into force (termination) of this standard is published in the “National Standards” index.

Information about changes to this standard is published in the “National Standards” index, and the text of these changes is published in the “National Standards” information indexes. In case of revision or cancellation of this standard, the relevant information will be published in the information index “National Standards”